Dead Man's Curve [DVD]

Dead Man's Curve revolves around an urban legend that if your college roommate commits suicide, you get pass grades for the term to help ease your pain. Enter Chris {Michael Vartan} and Tim {Matthew Lillard} who decide to test this theory by offing their buddy Rand {Randall Batinkoff}. It's a deliciously evil premise that thankfully, in spite of the film's low reputation, makes for an enjoyable genre spliced viewing. Directed and written by Dan Rosen, Dead Man's Curve has a clever plot at its core, our pair of rotters, tho Chris is a sheepish accomplice to the dominant Tim, set it up nicely by way of chatty concerns with the school psychologist and the shifty purchase of depressing music. Aided by some women troubles in the mix, the pair execute their plan, but all is not quite that simple. As the plot unravels it twists and turns and delivers an ending that is as genius as it is unexpected. And that's in a good way as well.

The young cast, handsome and ebullient, do fine work here, particularly Lillard, who expands on his loony turn in Scream from two years earlier with much maniacal relish. The older actors however don't fair so well, courtesy of either being underwritten or merely for being plot fillers. But hey, if all lady psychologist's look like Dana Delaney then I'm going to sign myself up for a bit of therapy. Naturally with a premise like this it's far from perfect and the implausibility factors are high, but Rosen has a wry observation on American dorm life. Be it the pressures of success or the need to be part of a group, Rosen and his on form cast have created a darkly comic piece of devilment. The soundtrack is excellent, and for sure it's laden with misery from the likes of The Smiths and Bauhaus, while the Elk Neck Lighthouse location work evokes memories of tidy creepers from days of yore.

A fine story told and executed well, give it a go and you may just be as pleasantly surprised as I was. 7/10

When I was in college, the story was that you got a 4.0 if your roommate died, but now it seems that said roommate actually has to kill himself/herself for the rule to apply. Of course, no one actually believed this urban myth (thank goodness - my first roommate was an avid hunter). According to The Curve (also known as Dead Man's Curve), however, most state universities actually have this rule in place - and it's not exactly a secret. That being the case, it was only a matter of time before someone exploited this little loophole for his/her own gain.

Don't worry about having pity for the poor victim of this little scheme, for Rand (Randall Batinkoff) is inherently unlikable - he's a slick and spoiled child of great wealth who treats everyone around him like dirt, especially his mousy girlfriend Natalie (Tamara Craig Thomas). Despite this, his two roommates don't really hate him. Chris (Michael Vartan) is just desperate to get into Harvard grad school and Tim (Matthew Lillard) - well, Tim's just messed up in the head. You may remember Matthew Lillard from his role in Scream; he's playing the same kind of psychotic character here - only more psychotic and even more brutish and annoying. Chris is no genius, either, having believed that killing Rand and making it look like suicide would be a simple act to pull off. Serious repercussions - and major plot twists - follow in the wake of his and Tim's actions.

The Curve is an odd little film. Early on, it even seems to have some comedic aspirations - take, for instance, the guys' pre-murder field trip to procure Rand a supply of books and music that a depressed person would supposedly be into (sadly, since the list includes a number of my favorites, I have apparently been deeply depressed for the past quarter century) and Tim's flippant and overly dramatic reactions to the news of his best friend's death. Even Rand's death is far from a neat and efficient job. Not unexpectedly, tension soon begins to grow between Chris and Tim, while Chris' feelings of guilt take a toll on his relationship with his super-hot girlfriend Emma (Keri Russell). By this point, it's pretty clear where this story is heading - until, that is, everything changes and then changes again. Some very effective and well-constructed plot twists really take this film to a whole new level, making this a five-star movie in my opinion.

The Curve is one of those rare direct-to-video movies that should have enjoyed a theatrical release. The plot is tightly constructed and rather ingenious and the acting is quite good all the way around. The film's only real weakness is the likability of some of the major characters. I certainly had no trouble liking Emma and poor little Natalie, but the guys are another story. I had nothing but bad feelings toward Rand, and you really can't feel sorry for Chris at any point because the man did help kill his roommate. Tim, of course, is highly obnoxious and hard to take in large doses, but the unpredictable nature of his actions makes him a fascinating character to observe. Truly, though, the story is the real star of this show, and that is why The Curve is such a great movie.

With today's fast evolution of the video market, DVDs are becoming so cheap, destocking, competition from Blue-ray, and all kinds of pirating, that we can get DVDs for less than five euros, if not less that five dollars, if not even less than just plain nothing. So when I got into that one, I thought I was entering some kind of college comedy for teeny boppers looking for some soft sexual kicks. But that impression vanished within fifteen minutes and was replaced by the new question whether this film was one more psycho serial killer, and that did not last even a second quarter of an hour and we moved into an absolutely fascinating variation on the eternal crime story in which we cannot know who is killing who and who is going to be killed next and who is the real serial killer and who is the real designated final victim and how that absolutely foolish but so intricate conspiration is going to be sold to the police, the FBI and all kinds of authorities as a legitimate suicide or natural death. And it became quite enjoyable after a while and even a little bit more with the elapsing minutes and dozens of minutes to a final punch-line I will not reveal because it is too funny and it proves that anyone can lead anyone else into believing anything they want because the others want to believe anything they are told provided it is slightly bleak, slightly sad and slightly reassuring in its disquieting nature. Enjoy that piece of foolery.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines